Small arms ammunition belt



B. W. K. GQODE SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION BELT Feb. 25, 1969 Sheet Filed Oct. 6, 1966 Feb. 25, 1969 B. w. K. scone 3,429,220

SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION BELT Filed Oct. 6, 1966 Sheet 3 of 2 United States Patent 3,429,220 SMALL ARMS AMMUNITION BELT Basil Wanless Kelley Geode, Masons Vernham Dean, Andover, Hampshire, England Filed Oct. 6, 1966, Ser. No. 584,823 Claims priority, application Great Britain, Oct. 11, 1965,

43,119/ 65 U.S. Cl. S933 Int. Cl. F41d 9/00; F41c 25/00; F42b 9/26 10 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to small arms ammunition for use with automatic firearms, hereinafter called weapons of small and medium calibre, the invention being particularly, but not exclusively, suitable for use with such automatic weapons as embody one or more open chambers from which projectiles are fired.

As is well known, cartridges of ammunition for automatic weapons commonly comprise a bullet or projectile mounted in or upon a metal case which contains the propellant charge and a percussion cap, and these cartridges before they are fired are usually stored in and fed to the weapon from a magazine or a jointed ammunition belt both of which are commonly made of metal or include metal in their construction. It will be appreciated therefore that after firing, the ejected metal cases and the emptied magazine and belt unless immediately refilled (which is often impracticable) represent a considerable wastage of valuable material, which is also heavy and which has had to be carried on the field of battle.

The present invention has been devised with the general object of providing an improved ammunition belt which is more economic in the use of material both in its own construction and in the ammunition which it is intended to receive.

The invention thus consists in an ammunition belt for use as aforesaid and which is principally comprised of flexible and resilient non-metallic sheet material moulded to form ammuition pockets integrally therein.

The invention also consists in the combination of an ammunition belt as set forth in the preceding paragraph and an automatic small arms weapon having an open chamber and a feed piece which is mounted for pivotal and reciprocal movement and is adapted to engage the pockets of the belt.

According to the preferred arrangement at least some of said pockets directly support or contain one at least of the following ammunition components, namely a plug, a projectile, a sabot, a propellant charge and an igniting device.

Preferably the aforesaid feed piece comprises a slotted rotary lever which is adapted to swing about and slide upon a fixed pivot and is connected by conventional means to a rotary crank.

All these, and other features of the invention, are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of the ammunition belt with an associated weapon part shown in section;

3,429,2Zfi Patented F ch. 25, 1969 FIGURE 2 is a section of the ammunition belt on line A-A of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a vertical section through a weapon chamber and ammunition belt feed mechanism showing the ammunition belt in an operative position;

FIGURE 4 is a section on line B-B of FIGURE 1;

FIGURES 5 and 6 are sections similar to FIGURE 4 showing similar forms of ammunition belt with differently incorporated ammunition;

FIGURE 7 is an end elevation of an end cap incorporated in an ammunition belt as shown in any of FIG- URES 1 to 6; and

FIGURE 8 is a vertical section showing a belt in conjunction with a possible alternative weapon feed mechanism.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown an ammunition belt 1 made of a flexible and resilient material such as synthetic rubber, neoprene, or plastics material and which can conveniently be formed by moulding. Such material should be treated or formed sothat it will not char, burn, melt, or lose its elasticity to any significant extent when it becomes heated. The belt may if required, be internally reinforced by filamentary or woven flexible material and it may incorporate a spring strip so as to be self-coiling.

The belt is formed on one side with a plurality of equally spaced smoothly contoured pockets 2, each of which accommodates the components of a cartridge of ammunition. These pockets are conveniently of approximately oval shape for reasons hereinafter explained. The webs 3 between the pockets are as thin as possible whilst the transition portions 4 of the walls of the pockets 2 are relatively thick.

FIGURE 3 particularly shows how such an ammunition belt could be used in one particular form of automatic Weapon which has been devised. This gun has an open chamber which is behind the gun barrel and which comprises at the top a hinged locking plate 5 and at the bottom a feed piece in the form of a rotor 6 formed with a series of teeth 7 for driving the belt and with recesses 8 of the same contour as the outside of the belt pockets 2 for accommodating the same successively as they are fed below the concave lower face of the locking plate 5. The rotor 6 can be rotated in stepwise manner, as for instance manually, or by an appropriate gas or recoil operated or auxiliary mechanism, the clearance between the looking plate 5 and the rotor teeth 7 being the minimum necessary for accommodating the webs 3 of the belt.

Whilst it is not essential that the pockets 2 should be oval shape the resultant conformation of the pocket walls contributes to the strength and durability of the belt. Moreover, the transition portions or corners 4 become wedged or squeezed between the looking plate 5 and the rounded or chamfered corners of the rotor teeth 7, thus ensuring an excellent gas-tight seal.

FIGURE 4 shows the mode of construction and the components of an ammunition cartridge located in a pocket 2 of an ammunition belt as above described, such round being unconventional in that it does not comprise a separate case whether of metallic or other material for supporting the base of the projectile, the propellant charge and the igniting device.

Instead, as shown, a guide plug 9, a bore-size projectile 10, propellant charge 11, and igniting device 12 comprising a percussive cap, anvil and rear plug are all housed directly in contact with the belt pocket.

The guide plug 9 is made of tough heat-resistant material such as the resin impregnated asbestos known as ferobestos and its function is to steady the nose of the projectile until the main body of the latter enters the bore of the weapon.

FIGURES 1 and 4 show that the leading edge of the 3 belt 1 is in direct abutment with the rear face of the barrel 13 of the gun.

The ammunition belt according to the invention can also be used to accommodate in its pockets reduced diameter projectiles of the encapsulated type. One such arrangem nt is shown in FIGURE 5 where the rear part of the projectile is encased in a bore-sized sabot 14 made of rubber-ebonite or nylon or similar light material to increase muzzle velocity in known manner.

FIGURE 6 shows a somewhat similar arrangement but this is intended as a high velocity projectile high pressure cartridge and is provided additionally with a shouldered heat-insulating sleeve 15, also made of lferobestos, which surrounds the s aling and guide plug 9 and is recessed into the front part of the pocket 2, so that its shouldered part separates the belt material from the hot surface of the arrel or chamber of the weapon during sustained firing. In all instances the guide plug, the sabot and the firing device are sealed in the belt pocket by any of various known suitable waterproof cements.

FIGURE 7 shows the configuration and arrangement of an anvil 21 and two fireholes 22 in the firing device of an oval section round as above described. Conveniently the ammunition belt may be of sufiicient length to accommodate for instance twenty rounds of ammunition.

Also by means of a blank or empty pocket or other means at one end a belt may be adapted to be coupled to a compl mentarily formed end of another and similar belt such as a male-female fit, etc. If a blank pocket is used for this purpose the resultant cessation of fire signals that a predetermined number of projectiles have been fired. The provision of complementary coupling means would also enable the ends of the same elt to be joined as might well be advantageous wh re the weapon is to be used in a cramped or insufficiently camouflaged location, or transported in a loaded condition.

In FIGURE 8 there is illustrated open chamber and feed mechanism for a weapon which is particularly suitable for use with the form of ammunition belt which has been described. This d sign differs from the one shown in FIGURE 3 in that the direction of ammunition belt feed is rectilinear and not arcuate and the lower edge of the locking plate 5 is fiat. Moreover, the feed piece is a slott d rotary lever 16. This lever 16 has at the top a recess 17 of the same contour as the outside of the pockets for engaging the same. The lever can swing about a lower pivot 18 and is coupled by a pin 19 to a rotary crank 20. The crank 20 is caused to rotate in synchronism with the operation of a firing mechanism by any appropriate means, as for instanc by a helically coupled spring and recoil or gas operated reciproating rod. Rotation of the crank 20 causes the lever :16 not only to swing about the pin 18 but also to effect reciprocating up and down movements as it approaches and leaves the top dead centre position, the lever 16 sliding on the pin 18. FIGURE 8 shows how th feed lever 16 in moving from the chain dashed position to the upright position moves a cartridge containing pocket 2 opposite the bore of the weapon in replacement of a pocket which has previously been emptied by operation of a firing mechanism, and effects an upward closing movement on the pocket against the locking plate 5, the feed lever eing momentarily stationary to lock the chamber, of which it forms part, when in its top dead center position. By this means, the feed lever exerts a powerful closing force on the pockets of the belt against the locking plate 5 so that clearances are eliminated, and each successive pocket is accurately positioned for firing. Furthermore, as the crank approaches the lowermost position it brings about a quick return movement of the lever '16, which is of considerable advantage having regard to the time taken up by the wasted half stroke of the lever.

It is to be understood that although the embodiments which have been described above are those which are at present preferred many variations may be possible. Thus for instance, the belt may include some metallic material if required for strengthening or other special purposes and the position and shape of the pockets in relation to the webs of the belt may be varied. Also for instance provision could be made for the rounds to be fired electrically or by means of a cap mounted elsewhere than at the rear or base of each round.

Moreover, although the ammunition belt which has been described in detail is for use with an open chamber weapon and the cartridges are fired whilst they are located in the pockets of the ammunition belt, it is to be understood that the ammunition belt can be adapted for use with automatic weapons wherein for operation each cartridge is fed out of the belt into a closed chamber before it is fired.

It is thought that the invention is significantly advantageous compared with known equipment for the same purpose. The economy in the use of synthetic heat-resistant materials and other material which it permits should lead to a substantial reduction in production cost particularly bearing in mind the possibility of mass production assembly of prefabricated cartridge components into the ammunition belt simultaneously with or directly after its manufacture.

Apart from the reduction in weight, the absence or substantial absence of metal in the belt should reduce the noise level of the Weapon in which it is used and also make the belt more compact, less conspicuous and more reliable in adverse battle conditions.

I claim:

1. The combination of an ammunition belt being of resilient synthetic heat-resistant material and having integral pockets molded in spaced relationship along its length which pockets project only from one side, the other side being flush; and an automatic firearm including a barrel,

a fixed locking plate with a planar surface adjacent said barrel and against which said flush other side of said belt rides, and a slotted rotary lever mounted for pivotal and reciprocal movement and having a recess commensurately shaped to said pockets for advancing said belt intermittently linearly along said locking plate and adjacent to said barrel.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said lever is swingable about and slidable upon a fixed pivot, and is rotatably mounted to a rotary crank.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2 wherein said crank is rotated in synchronism with the firing mechanism of said firearm, and when said lever is in the top dead center position, said recess pressures one of said pockets against said locking plate adjacent said barrel and ignition occurs.

4. An ammunition belt for use with automatic firearms of small and medium calibre comprising a continuous belt of resilient synthetic heat-resistant material adapted to be intermittently linearly fed past the barrel of said firearm; said belt having integral pockets molded in spaced relationship along its length, the pockets projecting from one side of said belt and the other side being flush; said pockets forming the sole casing about propellant charges and contain projectiles, which charges are adapted, when ignited adjacent said barrel to propel said projectile therethrough.

5. An ammunition belt as set forth in claim 4 wherein said material also contains a minor proportion of metallic material for strengthening.

6. An ammunition belt as set forth in claim 4 in which said pockets are of non-circular shape and the transition portions between said pockets and intervening Web portions of said belt are relatively thick in relation to said web portions.

7. An ammunition belt as set forth in claim 4 in which said pockets are substantially oval shape in cross-section.

8. An ammunition belt as set forth in claim 4 wherein said material is internally reinforced by filamentary flexible material.

9. An ammunition belt as set forth in claim 4 wherein each of said pockets is directly attached to an igniting device and said pockets contain at least one of the following ammunition components, namely, a guide plug, or a sabot.

10. An ammunition belt as set forth in claim 9 having a shouldered heat-insulating sleeve in the end of said pocket adapted to be adjacent said barrel.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 6 1,856,022 4/1932 Blacker. 3,046,842 7/1962 Sergay 89-35 X 3,328,963 7/1967 Kraus 89-33 X FOREIGN PATENTS 5 471,995 7/1914 France. 1,224,125 6/1960 France.

SAMUEL FEINBERG, Primary Examiner.

10 S. C. BENTLEY, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 89-35; 10243 

